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Coshocton may consider open container district

COLUMBUS – Gov. John Kasich has signed a bill allowing cities to create open-container districts in designated areas.

Under the new law, cities or townships of more than 35,000 people will be able to establish one or two outdoor drinking zones. Revelers will be able to buy alcohol from bars in the district and stroll around outside. The vision: create a Bourbon Street or Beale Street in cities in Ohio.

Kasich's signature kicks the process to city officials. Under the new law, which takes effect immediately, a local city council must propose the boundaries of a district and wait 30 days for public input before creating it. Drinking zones can be no more than a half-mile square.

The law allows towns more than 35,000 people to create one zone and those with more than 50,000 people to create two. Outdoor drinking zones must include at least four alcohol permit holders. Cities and townships of any size have the option of creating their own, smaller districts after two years.

With a population of just over 11,000, Coshocton falls under the that threshold. City officials say the law could boost entertainment and tourism, although it would need to be implemented responsibly.

"I would consider it. I'm not totally against it at all," said Tom Grier, a Democratic at-large city council member. "It could actually be a draw and do the community good."

Grier said he'd want to see how the law worked in other cities first. If it were ever implemented in Coshocton, he said, he'd want it to be done carefully, preferably at larger venues and with law enforcement present.

But others don't share Grier's optimism about the law.

"It's very possible it would come up, but I would vote it down," said Jim Baker, a Democratic council member representing the 2nd Ward. "We've got enough drugs and other things in this small city that we don't need to add anything to it."

In larger cities, the districts could not be larger than one-half square mile.

The proposal also would ease the state's open-container restrictions to allow riders on certain commercial, multipassenger bicycles to have wine and beer.